The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a private letter ruling (PLR) in February that two solar energy facilities will not be public utility properties within the meaning of former Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 46(f) and Section 168(i)(10). PLR 202208005 determined the facilities did not meet one of three requirements to be considered public utilities, which requires energy produced to be sold at rates determined on a rate-of-return basis. PLRs are directed only to the taxpayer requesting them and may not be used or cited as precedents.

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The U.S. Department of Energy announced Feb. 9 that its Solar Energy Technologies Office would make available $5 million for Small Innovative Projects in Solar. The funds seek to spark research and development of projects in photovoltaics and concentrating solar-thermal power. The submission deadline was March 21. Announcement of selected applications is anticipated this summer.

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The IRS published a private letter ruling in February that a solar energy facility owned by a taxpayer is not a public utility property and the taxpayer is not subject to the normalization rules of IRC Section 168(i)(9) or former Section 46(f). IRC Section 168(i)(9) governs the normalization method of accounting for any public utility property and IRC Section 46(f) stipulates the amount of credits. PLR 202205002 determined the taxpayer’s property is ineligible because the electricity it generates is not sold at rates determined on a rate-of-return basis, but instead at market-based wholesale rates. PLRs are directed only to the taxpayer requesting them and may not be used or cited as precedents.

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The American Clean Power Association’s 2021 fourth quarter report, released Feb. 15, showed that despite the United States surpassing more than 200 gigawatts of total clean power capacity, the pace of installations slowed 3% over the course of 2021. The sector installed 27.7 gigawatts of new clear power in 2021. A number of projects scheduled for 2021 slid to expected 2022 or 2023 launches due to issues such as trade policies, lack of regulatory certainty impacting the availability of solar panels and the expiration of the renewable energy production tax credit in December 2021.